Definition:Analytical Mechanics
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Definition
Analytical mechanics is a subfield of mathematical physics which uses techniques of analysis, in particular the calculus of variations, to solve problems in mechanics.
Hence, instead of solving equations in vector quantities, it involves solutions of differential equations of scalar quantities.
Also see
- Results about analytical mechanics can be found here.
Historical Note
The field of analytical mechanics was initiated by Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz.
It took shape with the work of Leonhard Paul Euler and Joseph Louis Lagrange, and later refined by William Rowan Hamilton.
Sources
- 1937: Eric Temple Bell: Men of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text{IX}$: Analysis Incarnate
- 1965: J.W. Leech: Classical Mechanics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text {I}$: Introduction